The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
It is not news that with the nearly universal incorporation of air conditioning systems into passenger cars, they are operated as essentially sealed compartments with the sole source of air being the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. This situation places a premium on the supply of clean, fresh smelling air to the passenger compartment, free of any odors, at least from the driver's own vehicle.
The increasingly sophisticated compositions of low viscosity oils, transmission fluids and gear lubricants has been accompanied by a curiously expanding palette of odors from such materials. A consequence thereof are a small number of customer complaints of unpleasant odors. While containing such fluids and odors by sealing transmissions and other powertrain components would appear to prevent such odors from entering the HVAC system, this is often not possible as most transmissions and other powertrain components require an open air vent to maintain pressure neutrality. With such air vents, there is typically a relatively high volume of air exchanged from the transmission to the ambient.
The present invention addresses and solves the problem of dispersion of lubricating fluid odors and their ingestion into the HVAC system and passenger compartment of a motor vehicle.